Speedy DaddyIs the 2013 Chevrolet Caprice Coming to a Chevy Dealer Near You?
UPDATED APRIL 19, 2012: Autoblog is reporting that General Motors has trademarked its “SS” designation, one that it has been using to designate performance-oriented Chevys since 1961. An abbreviation for “Super Sport,” the SS designation is currently applied only to the 2012 Camaro. Could this trademark action mean that next year’s NASCAR competitor and the new rear-drive civilian version of the 2013 Chevy Caprice cop car will simply be called the Chevy SS? And does this also mean that Chevrolet is planning to re-introduce the Camaro Z28 to take the place of the current Camaro SS?
Our Spidey-sense is tingling, and it says that a 2013 Chevy Caprice is coming to showrooms soon. Ever since the Pontiac G8 disappeared after a two-year run, abbreviated by the General Motors bankruptcy and subsequent shuttering of Pontiac, we’ve been wondering why Chevrolet didn’t just slap a bow-tie badge on the front of the G8 and re-introduce the car as an upgrade over the lame Impala sedan. Or, better yet, as a long overdue replacement. Thankfully, it appears that Chevy is about to do just that.
2013 CHEVY CAPRICE: FROM COP CAR TO RACE CAR TO FUN FAMILY CAR
Let’s review the evidence. First, the Caprice makes a return as a cop car for 2012, duking it out with the Dodge Charger and Ford Taurus to fill the vacuum left by the discontinued Crown Victoria. See, cops like rear-wheel-drive sedans with V8 engines, and Chevy wanted a piece of that action. Hence, the Caprice police car.
Now, Chevrolet has announced that it won’t be running an Impala in NASCAR next year, saying that it “will be racing a vehicle based on a new nameplate to the brand’s lineup.” That means it won’t be the Spark, Sonic, Cruze, Malibu, or next-generation Impala, which is expected to share plenty with the new 2013 Cadillac XTS. And it is highly unlikely that a new Monte Carlo is going to roll off assembly lines any time soon.
That leaves the Chevy Caprice to serve on oval tracks around the nation and, by extension, American families. A rear-drive sedan with V6 or V8 power, essentially a Pontiac G8 with a gold bow-tie badge on the grille, the 2013 Caprice is looking more and more like a reality. We’ll report more details as they become available.
– Christian Wardlaw
you forgot to mention this chevy is another job killing import americans need jobs not imports
Hi Bruce. Thanks for visiting Speedy Daddy. The patriotic American in me agrees with you, and I’m a huge fan of in-sourcing — and even paying a premium to a company that does so. But the industry observer in me realizes that the car industry is increasingly global, and that vehicles designed and engineered for sale all around the planet, and built where it makes the most sense to do so, are increasingly important to the financial health of every auto company.
Unlike in decades past, there is no clear cut way to define what it means to “buy American.” Traditionally, that has meant purchasing a vehicle made by a company based in the U.S. The question is, does that now include Chrysler, which is majority controlled by Fiat?
As for the Aussie-built Caprice/SS, its existence is employing Americans from NASCAR (where the SS replaces the Impala) to Long Beach (where the cars are likely to be unloaded from cargo ships for shipment to dealers). Just because a vehicle is assembled someplace other than in the U.S., it doesn’t mean that Americans are not being employed by the importation of that vehicle.
Why does he say the Impala is “lame”? My wife had 2000, 2002, 2004 SS and 2006 models, and we purchased a 2007 model for our daughter when she graduated from law school. We found the cars to be exactly what we were looking for at the time. The 3.8 liter was anything but “lame”, and the quality of the car was what we expected from Chevrolet.
Hi Edward. Thanks for visiting Speedy Daddy. When the 2000 Chevy Impala was introduced to the media during a press conference at the 1999 North American International Auto Show, I was in the crowd, and you could have heard the proverbial pin drop after the car was unveiled. Nobody said anything. Awkward silence. Then tentative, polite applause. That pretty much said it all — the new Impala was a disappointment after the then-revered 1996 Impala SS.
Fast forward to 2012, and today’s Impala is constructed on the same basic foundation as that 2000 Impala. If you think a dog is getting along in years at 12, that’s positively ancient in terms of automotive engineering. Plus, it is an entirely unacceptable situation for what is supposed to serve as the flagship Chevy sedan. Furthermore, the Impala gets a 2-Star side-impact crash-test rating for the driver, according to the NHTSA. There’s room for improvement in IIHS crash-test scores, too.
Chevrolet should have redesigned this car for the 2006 model year. Instead, the Impala was reengineered, a cost-saving shortcut which is fine as a stop-gap measure while preparing an all-new model. Instead, that refreshed 2006 design is still on the road (and is for 2013, too). Today, the Impala remains a best-selling model, but only because Chevy dumps them into rental fleets, municipal fleets, government fleets, etc. Few consumers actually buy the Impala anymore.
That’s why the current Impala is lame. It was lame when it was introduced, and while the 2006 model represented a significant improvement on the 2000-2005 version, it is now long past retirement age. The 2014 Impala, based on the same platform as the Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac XTS, will represent a quantum leap forward in sophistication for the nameplate.
I am from the US and living in Dubai, I got a new 2012 Chevy Caprice Royale with all the options. And I have to say it is one of the best sedans I have ever driven. With the V8 it launches off the line and over takes Mercedes and BMW 5 series with no problem, and the ride is soft and quite like a Cadillac. I had the vehicle up to 240klm but got scared because it wanted to keep going.
If GM doesn’t bring this car to the US for 2013 I will be shipping one back from the Middle East myself. I can’t wait to get it on the US Interstates.
Everyone deserves to own one instead of just the US Government!
Hi Robert,
Glad you’re enjoying your Chevy. We’ll be getting a version of your car in the U.S. next year: the 2014 Chevrolet SS. It fulfills NASCAR “stock” car regulations, and by naming it “SS” Chevy gets to call its NASCAR racer by the same name, building recognition and credibility with a younger generation that may not know very much about the Super Sport legacy.
Name it Caprice! The Caprice has always stayed a true fullsize sedan it is the perfect name for a car this size. The Caprice V6 in LT and LTZ trim and Caprice V8 as the Caprice Super Sport! This is my opinion. The Caprice was Chevrolet’s top selling flagship from 67-96 there is loads heritage behind this name. Many of those years Caprice and Impala were sold side by side. It would be awesome to see them together again!
I speak for all cars!
Hi Carl,
I agree that Caprice would work, but it certainly does appear that Caprice may be reserved for the police/government fleets and that “SS” will be applied to the new full-sizer. My opinion is that SS ought to remain the designation for performance variants of Chevrolets, with RS serving to designate sporty variants.